UK-based sustainable adhesive company BindEthics is transitioning its bio-based adhesive – Ecohesive – from laboratory development into industrial-scale production.
The milestone marks a major moment for BindEthics, a company founded by chemist Victoria Garcia, which is aiming to eliminate formaldehyde-based resins from global construction and furniture supply chains, while enabling greater recyclability and circularity across the engineered wood sector.
The company has progressed from laboratory testing to producing 40-litre production-grade batches with a validated pathway to 2,000-litre manufacturing volumes. BindEthics says commercial discussions and customer interest currently represent potential industrial demand exceeding 6,000 tonnes.
Initial commercial production batches are earmarked for industrial trials with major Tier 1 manufacturers and specialist eco-plywood fabricators across Europe, it added.
“Reaching commercial-scale production is a defining moment for BindEthics,” said Colin Warburg, Commercial Lead at BindEthics.
“We are scaling our operations to meet growing market demand driven by increasingly stringent environmental regulations. This milestone demonstrates that sustainable materials innovation developed in the UK can compete at industrial scale while helping manufacturers transition to a toxin-free future.”
Ecohesive, derived from purified and refined industrial bio-waste including by-products from the brewing industry, is a 100% bio-based, formaldehyde-free adhesive developed specifically for engineered wood applications.
It is designed as a drop-in solution compatible with existing industrial mixing and pressing equipment, eliminating the need for manufacturers to invest in costly new production infrastructure.
BindEthics says the technology is expected to enable up to 90% of engineered wood products, including furniture panels and construction boards, to become fully recyclable, helping to advance circular economy goals across the sector.
Ecohesive applications include:
• Plywood manufacturing
• Oriented Strand Board (OSB)
• Mass timber products
• Acoustic and sound diffusion panels
• Furniture manufacturing
The commercial scale-up comes at a critical time for manufacturers as governments intensify restrictions on formaldehyde emissions. New EU REACH regulations which took effect on 6 August 2026 introduced significantly stricter formaldehyde emission limits for wood-based products, creating growing pressure on manufacturers to identify compliant alternatives.
